Multiple crashes keep emergency crews busy

December 26, 2012

Firefighters and other responders work at the scene of a two-vehicle crash Monday night near the intersection of Kula Highway and Hoopalua Drive. Firefighters needed to use the “Jaws of Life” to extricate the driver from the black sedan struck in a collision with a white truck before 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Witnesses said that the sedan’s driver went through a stop sign on Hoopalua Drive, and the truck driver crashed into the vehicle. An emailed road notification from Maui County reported that the highway was closed from 9:54 to 10:36 p.m. Maui County Paramedics Association spokesman Ryan Joslin said there were five or six vehicle crashes on Monday. He did not have details, but he said there were no fatalities. Joslin said that the number of crashes Monday was unusual. “It was very busy,” he said.The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo